Analysis on Cause ofCasualty in Recent Japanese Earthquakes (1999-2008)

Abstract

Casualties in recent 66 Japanese earthquakes occurred from1999 to 2008 are surveyed and discussed. In 66 earthquakes, 11,921 casualties have been reported. We surveyed the circumstances where those casualties occurred. Publications by the central and local governments, and newspaper articles are collected. Information on casualties such as age, sex, place and cause are examined. As a result of the analysis, we confirmed chiefly the following points.Three major causes for deaths were shock or stress (47%), landslides (21%), and building collapse (18%). In contrast, the primary cause for serious injuries was slipping or stumbling (74%). For casualties, vulnerability of aged people was observed. The ratio of female of casualties was higher than that of male in elderly age group.